Overview
In February 2023, the UMN FeedbackFruits implementation team completed usability testing for FeedbackFruits, a suite of tools for peer learning including self-assessment, peer review, and group member evaluation. The focus question of the sessions was: What could make FeedbackFruits an easier system for instructors to learn to use?
What is usability testing?
Usability and user experience (also known as UX) analysis help teams better understand the people who use a technology or website. Usability testing is regularly conducted by UMN teams to understand how instructors and students are using different learning technologies. Previous usability sessions explored learning analytics, Canvas New Quizzes, mobile learning, and focus groups with students and instructors on remote learning. The usability testing sessions include participants, a team of observers, and a member of the Usability Services team who conducts the sessions. All observers sign a code of conduct. During the sessions, participants work through a series of scenarios. Members of the observation team capture what participants are doing and their reactions in order to collect data to answer the focus question. After the testing sessions have concluded, the team of observers and the Usability Services team member meets to debrief, analyze the findings from the sessions, and develop recommendations.Observed issues
During the debrief session, the following issues were observed by the majority of participants:- Understanding how the FeedbackFruits assignment and the Canvas assignment interface with each other
- Finding the feedback criteria to modify scales and rubrics for FeedbackFruits assignments
- Working with two sets of dates: one set in the FeedbackFruits assignment and one set in the Canvas assignment
Recommendations
To address the observed issues, the UMN team identified the following recommendations:- Create a knowledge article for UMN instructors about getting started with FeedbackFruits in Canvas
- Create good practice article for UMN instructors with guidance on scheduling and timing of the different components of a peer review assignment
- Revise FeedbackFruits sessions to include:
- guidance for adding FeedbackFruits as an external tool to a Canvas assignment
- assignment mapping activity with feedback criteria
- clear guidance on how/when to use the due dates in FeedbackFruits assignments and how they display in Canvas courses